Wednesday, 13 August 2014

Did Hamas exploit a Palestinian girl and Sky News?

The foreign media in Gaza have been accused of biased
reporting bordering on the cynical and cowardly.

Faced with the fear of what
might happen to them by Hamas caused them to abandon any presence of journalistic
ethics and simply regurgitate whatever Hamas gave them, or whatever they saw
from their restricted vision, ignoring, of course, the rocket fire coming from
outside their hotel windows until they were outside of Gaza and felt brave
enough to report in hindsight what they experienced.

What’s infinitely worse is a media outlet like Sky News who,
from the safe distance of their London studio, still put out emotional Hamas
propaganda that takes a gratuitous swipe at Israel.

This occurred on August 10 when they repeatedly broadcast a
piece on a seven year old girl who had been apparently paralyzed in an Israeli
air strike.

The girl is heard saying “We were sitting at home when we
heard a noise. So we went down the stairs.”
What noise was this? Could it have been the “Knock on the roof”
pre-strike warning that this house had been sited as a terror target by the IDF
intelligence? What’s this girl’s family name? Is it among the names of leading
Hamas terrorists? This was partially confirmed by the girl known as Maha when
she said “Me and my mother were injured, and we knew if we stayed like this
we would die. But my mother stayed at home and she died.” Did her mother
knowingly act as a human shield (or sacrifice) for Hamas? We don’t know. The reporter didn't ask or
investigate this.

The report stressed that there are only three hospitals
worldwide capable of treating anyone in her condition, a claim I found
preposterous.

There are numerous Israeli hospitals of international reputation
that regular treat such injuries. In 2006, in a previous Hamas-incited
conflict, another Palestinian girl was paralysed and received five years of
treatment at Alyn Hospital. Her family was members of Islamic Jihad, but this
did not prevent Israel from giving this girl the best of Israeli medical care
at the expense of the state. When Israeli doctors thought she was well enough
to continue her treatment at a Gaza hospital her family fought attempts by
Israel to transfer her to a West Bank facility. So she and her family remain in
Jerusalem courtesy of the Israeli state.

Sky News claimed that Maha was being prevented from leaving
Gaza by Israel. Not true!

A COGAT top
representative, Guy Inbar, told me that a request from Gaza had been made and
accepted by COGAT on the same day, July 26, and that final details had been
requested by COGAT to prepare her exit.

Nothing more was heard from the other
side.

It certainly appears that Hamas has cynically played a
propaganda game for weeks over this little girl. They have invited members of
the press into Shifa Hospital to hear her story, rather than expedite her
release for treatment.

There is an excellent fully staffed field hospital set up by
the IDF on the Gaza border ready to received patients from Gaza. Only problem
is that Hamas physically threatens and prevents people from getting to this
facility. This also was not mentioned by Sky.

The IDF Spokesman, Peter Lerner, tweeted Sky News offering to
give them information but he failed to get a response. Neither did I when I
emailed Sky News a list of questions on this incident and their coverage.

It is still far from certain that a Sky reporter ever met or
spoke to the girl. Were they there at the Gaza hospital, did they question, did
they ask for Israeli response, or did they simply put out the story as
presented to them by Hamas?

My sources
in the IDF and with COGAT never received any contact by Sky News on this
incident.

The Sky News item did produce some action.

COGAT was
contacted by Palestinian health officials and they are coordinating with them
and also with the World Health Organization to have the girl removed from Gaza
as soon as a new request is received together with all the relevant documents
and information. She will be removed
first to Jerusalem and then on to a hospital where she can receive the best of
care.

COGAT has facilitated every request received by people
needing to leave Gaza for serious medical cases, one hundred and fifty in
number, throughout this current Gaza conflict.

What was missing from the Sky News report was the fact that
Maha is the daughter of Ahmed al-Sheikh Khalil, an Islamic Jihad commander and
a munition expert. He was killed on October 29, 2011 by an Israeli air strike
in retaliation for launching rockets into Israel from Gaza on the same day.

As for Sky News, I have yet to receive a response from them,
despite having sent them a more strongly worded letter. Their reporting of this
incident did wake up people in Gaza to take the accepted steps needed to have
the girl evacuated.

But, by that time, they had exploited her and Sky for clearly
propaganda purposes that have damaged Israel in a most unwarranted manner.

Barry Shaw is the Special Consultant on Delegitimization
Issues to the Strategic Dialogue Center at Netanya Academic College.

He is also the author of 'ISRAEL RECLAIMING THE NARRATIVE.' www.israelnarrative.com